The present invention relates to a stethoscope. More particularly, the invention relates to a stethoscope and an attachment portion for a stethoscope providing improved analysis capabilities, and advantageously being embodied in a structure presenting enhanced appearance and function, in a form particularly well suited for use in pediatric medicine.
The acoustic stethoscope remains the most widely used auscultation device in both developed and developing medical economies. The basic design references the 1978 Patent held by 3M for production of the Littmann Stethoscope.
Developments over the well accepted acoustic stethoscope design have been suggested, including electronic stethoscope designs. However, the international adoption of heretofore-suggested electronic stethoscopes has been slow and cumbersome, their general failure points being cost, required change of habit and potential distortion of the acoustic auscultation process.
While effective as a monitoring and diagnostic tool, the stethoscope relies upon the analysis of the diagnostician listening to the sound collected by the stethoscope, i.e., the subjective judgement of the physician, himself or herself. Attendant with this drawback is the possibility that the physician listening to the sounds detected by the stethoscope may mis-diagnose, or miss entirely, an ailment from which the patient is suffering.
Additionally, while quite effective as a monitoring and diagnostic tool, the well known stethoscope of conventional design projects a somewhat cold and clinical appearance that may trigger anxiety in a patient, especially in a young patient undergoing medical care and/or observation.
An object of the invention is to provide a low cost alternative to an electronic stethoscope, by applying a synergistic utilization of current technologies, to develop a novel audio capturing device, advantageously interfacing through a device agnostic communication protocol, that can be easily integrated with available mobile and stationary diagnostic equipment.
It is a further object of the invention to provide the above features in a manner which is supported by proprietary mobile and desktop dashboard applications used for the interpretation of diagnostic queries and the consumption of Rich Diagnostic Content (RDC)
A still further object of the invention is to provide a stethoscope, at least a portion of which having an appearance which is reassuring to the patient, particularly a pediatric patient, such that a calming effect is achieved during patient examination, and which optionally concomitantly provides multiple functions with coordinated synergistic benefits and effects, to aid in diagnostic evaluation.